Robots just as good as human surgeons: Study

NEW DELHI: Robots can be as good as human surgeons, a landmark Australian trial has found after comparing the advanced technology with traditional open surgery.

Findings of the comprehensive trial, conducted on men diagnosed with prostate cancer, showed those whose glands were removed through robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy were doing just as well after three months as those who underwent traditional open surgery. In fact, patients who were operated by a machine or robot lost far less blood as compared to those under traditional surgery - a factor very crucial in such operations.

Moreover, patients who had open surgery spent more time in hospital and experienced more pain doing day to day activities a week after the operation, according to the study.

According to Dr Ashish Sabharwal, robotic prostate surgeon at New Delhi's Apollo Hospital, "Complications of urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction are significantly reduced after robotic surgery. The recovery is also faster in such cases. We usually discharge a patient after two days of robotic surgery, whereas hospital stay of around five to six days is required in case of open surgery," Dr Sabharwal said.

Though robots are now used for various other cancer surgeries like cervical cancer, kidney and lung cancer, surgeons say it is most useful in prostate cancer.

Though robotic surgery has been in use worldwide since 2000 and has also been available in India over the last seven years, it has been surrounded by doubts and controversies mainly because of its high cost.

According to Dr Sabharwal, a robotic prostate surgery in India costs around Rs 3.5 lakhs, whereas open surgery can be conducted for Rs 1.5-2 lakhs. "However, since the hospital stay is lesser in case of robotic surgery, part of the cost is compensated," he said.

In robotic surgery, a high magnification 3D camera allows the surgeon a view inside the patient's body through a keyhole incision. The camera is attached to one of four arms on the machine, whereas the other three hold other surgical instruments needed for the operation.

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